


I Have Finally Found You

by OceannanotOceania



Series: Reunion [2]
Category: Arthurian Mythology & Related Fandoms, Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-17
Updated: 2013-12-23
Packaged: 2017-12-23 19:30:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/930230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceannanotOceania/pseuds/OceannanotOceania
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Over a thousand years has passed, and Merlin has finally been reunited with Arthur. Of course, things are much different now. Arthur has no idea who Merlin is, and Arthur is next in line to be CEO of Camelot Industries, while Merlin continues to run the bookshop <i>The Magic of Books</i>, formerly owned by Gaius.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Arthur!” Merlin calls.

Arthur turns away from his circle of friends, an eyebrow raised. “...Do I know you?”

“Oh, no,” Merlin shakes his head, the grin on his face fading. “Ah, sorry, you reminded me of someone I know.”

Arthur nods his head. “Right. And this ‘person you know’ happens to share my name?”

“I-I guess so,”

“...Right.” Arthur pauses, looking at Merlin. “So, um, who are you exactly?”

“I-I’m Merlin.”

“Merlin?” Leon asks. “You mean, like the wizard in the King Arthur stories?”

Right. Merlin shakes his head. He had helped write those. “Uh, yeah. My mother was in love with those stories.”

“I’ve been reading all about King Arthur ever since I was young,” Leon responds. “Imagine how I felt when I met Arthur!”

“Yeah,” Merlin nods his head, glancing at Arthur again. “I can imagine.”

“Right then, _Merlin_ ,” Arthur says. “I see you have met Leon. This is Gwaine, and this is Percival.”

Merlin nods at Gwaine and Percival, noticing Gwaine flash a smirk in response. Merlin looks at Arthur, feeling a faint blush on his face when he notices Arthur staring at him, bright blue eyes seeming to look straight into his soul.

“...Are you sure I haven’t met you before?” Arthur says after a few seconds, subtly .

“Perhaps you’ve passed me in the street before?” Merlin replies, avoiding the impulse to blurt out who Arthur truly is. “I own the second-hand bookshop a block or so from here.”

“You mean _The Magic of Books_?” Arthur replies. Merlin nods in response. “I thought Gaius ran that shop.”

“He, uh, decided to retire a few years ago. I had been working there for a while, and he decided to let me keep the shop running since I loved it there.”

“Oh.” Arthur frowns. “I never got to say my goodbyes.”

“He still lives in London.” Merlin says.

“Ah, that’s good.” Arthur flashes a smirk. “I’ll have to pass by his house, then. Haven’t talked to the old man in a while.”

Merlin hears an iPhone ping, and Arthur sighs, pulling out his phone. He glances at the screen, nodding his head.

“Well then.” Arthur mumbles. “I hate to cut our meeting short, but it appears that the four of us have business to attend to.” Arthur holds out his hand, which Merlin takes, shaking it once. “It was nice to meet you, Merlin.”

Arthur, Leon, Percival, and Gwaine begin to head out of the park, and Merlin shakes his head, sighing.

“Ah, Arthur.” Merlin calls.

Arthur pauses, turning away from the other men to look at Merlin. “Yes?”

“I know that we have only just met, but, if you would like to pass by the bookshop, feel free to.” Merlin says. “You may not know me as well as you knew Gaius, but, I may as well offer, right?” Merlin feels a flush of embarrassment on his face.

The blush on Merlin’s face deepens when he sees Arthur smile in response, flashing a glimmer of white teeth. “I will keep that in mind. Goodbye for now, Merlin.”

“Bye.”

Merlin watches as Arthur walks away, feeling frozen to the spot. Merlin gulps, feeling a wave of emotions, joy, confusion, a tinge of sadness, suddenly hit him. He avoids the impulse to collapse onto the ground, instead shaking his head and walking back to his flat, grip tightening on his messenger bag.

~

Merlin walks into his flat, closing the door behind him. He takes off his black dress shoes, padding around the flat in his socks. The flat is a lot more cramped than one its size should be, seeing as how much of it was filled with different kinds of wooden bookshelves overflowing with books, most hardcover or leather-bound, stacks of papers or paperbacks sitting in front of said bookshelves. The most clean area, save for the kitchen, is a small area in the living room, where a red loveseat sits in front of a white fireplace with a black grate. Near the loveseat is a small writing desk and rolling chair, with a black laptop (closed at the moment) on top of the desk, and a wooden chest sitting underneath.

Merlin goes to the kitchen, heading to the fridge and taking out a can of Coke, before going back to the living room, sighing as he flops onto the couch. He takes a sip of the Coke, sighing again. Arthur appeared to have no idea who he was. All these years, while he waited for Arthur to return, he had dreamt up all sorts of scenarios of what his reunion with Arthur would be like, how he would look, how Arthur would look, how Arthur would likely react. Never once had he considered that Arthur might not even know who Merlin was, or what his past life had been. In every scenario, Merlin tried to decide what the most appropriate response to Arthur’s reaction would be, and now, he had no idea how to respond, even how to feel. The same wave of emotions he felt at the park comes over him again. Merlin fidgets, trying to find a comfortable position with no luck. He sighs, taking a gulp of the Coke, wishing he kept more potent drinks in his flat.

Merlin sits for the next few hours in silence, the only sounds surrounding him the buzz of modern day life, which grows quieter as the sun sets. Occasionally, he sips at his Coke, watching the sun set through the window near his desk. Eventually, he finishes his Coke, turning the can upside down, and frowning when he realises that the it’s empty. He walks over to the writing desk, dropping the can into the bin near the desk. He pauses in front of the chair, which is turned toward him, looking at the laptop. He rotates the chair slightly, sitting in it before pulling the chair a bit closer to the desk and opening the laptop. He lazily types his password, pressing Enter before staring at the desktop background. He frowns. While most things humans had invented since he left Camelot were relatively easy for Merlin to figure out how to use, computers and similar technology still confuses him on occasion. He sighs, muttering an incantation, and watches the computer open up a browser window, typing in _Arthur Pendragon_ before pulling up a results page. Merlin’s eyes widen, seeing the various articles had popped up. He clicks on a page at random, glancing through it. _Went to public school...Graduated from university 5 years ago...son of Uther Pendragon, CEO of Camelot Industries...Has sister, Morgana Pendragon...Next in line to become CEO..._ Oh. Merlin looks up Camelot Ind., surprised when he is greeted by yet another barrage of articles. Once again, Merlin clicks an article at random, skimming through it. Somehow, he’s not too surprised to see how much of an influence Camelot Ind. has on Great Britain. From the service industry, food, clothing, oil, even government protection; if it had any influence on the well-being of the people, Camelot Ind. had a hand in it, whether directly, or through a sister company, even on occasion through a company that Camelot Ind. had bought out.

Merlin shakes his head, closing the laptop. Well then. Looks like Arthur had landed into another situation that would involve a conflict over who would inherit the position of authority. Merlin sighs, heading back to the kitchen and grabbing another can of Coke. He leans against the counter as he takes a swig of the Coke, sighing again. Well, there’s an upside to this situation: seeing as how Morgana’s in this realm as well, he would likely need to keep in touch with Arthur to make sure he doesn’t run into too many problems with Morgana. Granted, Arthur did have bodyguards (Leon, Percival, and Gwaine at the minimum), but Merlin had a nagging feeling that Morgana likely had magic in this time as well. As Merlin drank the Coke, another idea came to him. Perhaps, if he spent more time with Arthur, he would gradually remember who Merlin was. Merlin couldn’t help smiling in response, even though he knew that something like that could only be viewed as a fantasy for the time being.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ack, sorry for not posting in a while! My beta and I have both been busy with school starting up again. I'm hoping to post once a week on Saturday or Sunday, but don't be too surprised if I'm not able to keep to that schedule.

A few days after Merlin sees Arthur at the Lake, just before Merlin would close the shop, Arthur shows up at the bookshop. Merlin is in the nonfiction section, sorting through the books on a cart, and looks up when he hears the small bell above the door jingle. Arthur looks around the shop, raising an eyebrow when he sees no one at the register, and walks back towards the books. Merlin walks out from the depths of the nonfiction section.

“Arthur.”

“Ah, there you are,” Arthur replies, flashing a smile. “Sorry that I’m here so late, Gaius had a tendency to close up shop early when there are no customers, like right now.” Arthur glances around the shop. “Guess you’re not the same.”

“I-It’s fine,” Merlin mumbles. “I was just, uh, putting up the new books.” He nods towards the cart filled to the brim with various hardcover and paperbacks, conditions ranging from pristine to well-worn, some with pages more yellow than white. “Sorry, did you need something?”

“Yeah, um,” Arthur pauses. “You see, there’s this girl I like, and even though Father’s not too keen on me dating someone outside my...‘circle’,” Arthur grimaces slightly at the word. “I still want to go on a few dates with her, see if things could work out between us. She really likes books, and so, I thought our first date could be at a bookshop.”

“...Okay,” Merlin replies, an eyebrow raised. “And how can I help, exactly?”

“I thought it might be nice to try and impress her by trying to recommend a few books for her,” Arthur says. “I don’t read that often, and so, I’m not too sure what I could point out. And, I thought that, since, you know, you run a bookstore, you might be able to help.”

“Uh, yeah,” Merlin says, shaking his head. “What’s she into?”

“Pretty much anything,” Arthur says. “I see her with a lot of fantasy books, sometimes some mysteries.”

“Well, that’s pretty broad.” Merlin mumbles. He starts to walk towards the fiction section, waving Arthur over. He peruses the shelves, hand ghosting the covers of the books within reach. Merlin pauses, about to pull out a paperback version of _Interview With the Vampire_ , and glances over at Arthur. Arthur has a hand lightly stroking at his chin, eyes focused on the covers in front of him, and even though that intense gaze is not directed at him, Merlin feels a light blush on his face. “So, uh, who’s this girl?”

“Hm?” Arthur’s hand drops from his chin, shaking his head, and looking over to Merlin. “Oh, Guinevere. Well, she prefers that people call her Gwen.”

Merlin feels his face fall. It makes sense, in a way. Gwen and Arthur were together in their previous life, so of course they’d be together in this one as well.

“Oh. Not sure if I’ve seen her around here before.”

“Really?” Arthur responds. “I think she’d love it here. It’s a lot cheaper to buy from here than the bookstore near her flat.” Arthur pauses. “Then again, this is kind of a hidden place.”

Merlin simply shrugs in response. “Do you know if Gwen has read anything by Anne Rice?”

Arthur shrugs. “Not too sure.”

“She might like this, then.” Merlin pulls out the copy of _Interview With the Vampire_ , showing Arthur the cover. “This is the first book in the whole Vampire Chronicles series. It’s a bit slow in the beginning, but it gets a lot better.”

“Hm.” Arthur mumbles as Merlin puts back the book. “Any others?”

“Well, yes, obviously.” Merlin replies, turning back to the shelf. Merlin looks over the shelf, doing the same with each book he pulls out, saying a brief summary and flashing the cover to Arthur before putting it back. He has a hand on the edge of _Storm Front_ before he hears Arthur mumble something. “Sorry?”

“What’s this?” Arthur pulls out a copy of _The Once and Future King_.

“Oh, it’s another book about King Arthur.” Merlin replies. “When Uther dies, there’s this competition to see what knight can pull the sword from the stone, and it ends up being this boy, Wart, who becomes the next king. It’s pretty good.” Merlin says.

“Hm.” Arthur idly flips through the book, occasionally pausing to read a few paragraphs. “I don’t know what it is about the story, but it feels familiar to me.”

Merlin’s eyes widen slightly. His mind wanders back to when Arthur pulled out the sword from the stone, how many people were gathered to see the spectacle. He shakes his head.

“Maybe your parents read this story to you?”

Arthur raises an eyebrow, looking as if what Merlin said was unsatisfactory, seeming to rack his brain for an answer. For a brief moment, it seems as if Arthur might actually be remembering something, but the light of recognition in his eyes goes out all too quickly. Arthur shakes his head.

“Perhaps.”

Merlin tries to hide the disappointment on his face, walking over to Arthur, and gently taking the book from him, their hands brushing. Once the book is put back, Merlin looks up at Arthur, immediately backing away when he sees Arthur’s eyes trained on him.

“Er, sorry. Like to keep my books in order.”

“Oh, right. Sorry, that’s fine.” Arthur shakes his head. “So, anymore books you want to show me-”

The bell on the front door chimes, soon followed by the clack of shoes on the wooden floor.

“Ah, Arthur, there you are.” Arthur looks away from the bookshelf, an eyebrow raised.

“Oh, Gwaine.”

Gwaine walks over to the fiction section. “You know that your father’s been trying to contact you for the past half an hour or so?”

Arthur pulls out his phone, eyes slightly widening at the amount of missed calls and texts he had. “Uh, sorry. Guess I left it on silent.”

“You don’t normally make mistakes like that.”

Arthur shrugs. “And you’re not usually one to try and collect me. What are you doing here?”

Gwaine smirks. “Leon sent me. You know, he doesn’t always like to do this.” Gwaine looks over to Merlin. “Ah, Merlin. Sorry if this guy’s been causing you trouble.”

“No, it’s fine. I haven’t had any customers for the past hour or so, so it wasn’t that big of a deal.”

“Glad to hear.” Gwaine says. “Right then, Arthur, we should be on your way. I’m sure Merlin’s given you enough tips to woo your lady.”

Arthur scowls, rolling his eyes. “I appreciate your help, Merlin. However, as you can tell, I’ve got to be on my way.”

“Glad I could be of help.” Merlin replies. “Bye for now, then.”

“Bye.”

“What a lovely moment.” Gwaine mumbles. “Later, Merlin.”

Gwaine and Arthur walk off, and Merlin can’t help smirking when he hears the hushed whispers of a fight breaking out between Gwaine and Arthur.

\---

The bookshop is a lot busier the next day, somewhere around 15 people bustling about the small shop, the buzz of hushed conversations (“Is this series any good?”, or “Can I afford to get these?”) filling the air. Merlin smiles, glad to see how many people there are. No surprise, this happiness would not last for long. Merlin hears the chime of the bell above the door, and he looks toward the entrance of the shop. In walk Arthur and Gwen, absorbed in some conversation. Suddenly, Arthur looks up from Gwen, flashing a smile at Merlin. Merlin gulps, unsure of how to react when Arthur leads Gwen over to the register.

“Merlin!”

“Hello Arthur.” Merlin replies.

“Oh right.” Arthur shakes his head. “Merlin, this is Gwen. Gwen, this is Merlin.”

Merlin nods towards Gwen, who smiles in response.

“Arthur told me about your shop.” Gwen says. “I figured I would see if it was as cheap as Arthur claimed it to be.”

“Glad to hear that.” Merlin replies. “Hope you find what you’re looking for.”

Gwen nods, looking up at Arthur, before walking away. Arthur trails slightly behind her, his arm hovering by Gwen’s waist. Merlin shakes his head, trying not to stare at the sight of those two. He feels the edges of emotions long suppressed, jealousy, possessiveness, leaking into his thinking. A wave of relief comes over Merlin when a girl walks up to the register, mousy brown hair in a messy bun, glasses hanging on the edge of her nose, and places a stack of paperbacks on the desk to check out. Merlin begins to check the girl’s books out, seeing a few other people forming a queue to be checked out, and sighing with relief. For the time being, he would be distracted enough that those long suppressed emotions would not have to come up anymore in his mind.

Of course, the distraction lasts for only ten minutes or so. Soon enough, Merlin is left with a relatively empty shop, only one or two people besides Gwen and Arthur in the shop at the moment.

Gwen appears to have insisted on going through all of the books in the store, the two moving from nonfiction, and on to fantasy. Merlin feels a flare up of emotion when he sees that Arthur’s hand is intertwined in Gwen’s. The two are constantly in the midst of conversation as they browse through the book, Arthur occasionally pausing to look down into Gwen’s eyes. Merlin continues to try and suppress the emotions he feels, avoiding the impulse to do something cliché like using his magic to try and wrench the two apart, knowing that it would only bring them closer. The bell above the door chimes, and Merlin looks towards the front, unsure of how to act when Gwaine walks in. Arthur looks towards the front, raising an eyebrow, before walking over to Gwaine. Gwen looks over the book she is holding, keeping it with her as she follows behind Arthur.

“I didn’t know that you worked on the weekends.” Arthur states.

“Despite what you think, I’m not here because Leon or your father sent me.” Gwaine replies. “I came because I wanted to.” He looks over to Gwen. “Oh. I didn’t realise you’d be here with your lady friend.” Gwaine lightly touches Gwen’s arm, pulling her hand up to kiss it. Arthur is unable to suppress the scowl that comes onto his face. “My name is Gwaine.” Gwen blushes, shaking her head.

“I-I’m Gwen. It’s nice to meet you, Gwaine.”

“As it is nice to meet you.” Gwaine replies. “So, sir, may I stay here, or are you going to try and kick me out of a shop you don’t even own?”

The scowl comes back onto Arthur’s face for a brief moment. “I don’t care where you shop.” Arthur looks towards Gwen. “Have you found everything you need, Gwen?”

“Oh, not quite, let me grab a few more things.” Gwen walks back to the fiction section, Arthur trailing behind her.

Gwen grabs a few more paperbacks before walking up to the register. Gwaine raises an eyebrow before heading over to another section in the bookshop close to the register, idly browsing the books there. Merlin checks out Gwen’s books, a small smile coming onto his face when he sees that one of the books is _The Once And Future King_. Merlin hands Gwen a small plastic bag containing the books she got.

“Hope you come again.” Merlin says out of habit.

“Thanks, Merlin.” Gwen replies.

“Thank you, Merlin.” Arthur flashes a small smile.

Merlin can’t help but smile in response, watching as the two of them leave the store. Save for Gwaine, there is no one else in the bookshop, the other two customers who were in earlier having left around the time Gwaine came to the shop. Silence fills the air, and Merlin decides to open the register and count up the money that had been earned that day. Eventually, Merlin hears the sound of Gwaine walking over, and promptly closes the register. Gwaine raises an eyebrow.

“You know I’m not going to steal the money from a second-hand bookshop, right? I’ve got a well-paying job.”

“Er, sorry.” Merlin replies. “Force of habit.” Gwaine smirks.

“So, those lovebirds cause you much trouble?”

“Gwen and Arthur?” Merlin gulps, holding back the emotions that had been leaking into his thinking hours ago. “No, they weren’t any trouble, and Gwen bought something, so they’re fine in my book.”

“Ah.” Gwaine replies. “Good to hear.” Gwaine fiddles with the bookmark rack at the side of the register, eventually shaking his head. “Look, um, I know that we don’t know each other really well, but, if you feel like talking, or want to meet up, or anything like that, give me a call, okay?” Gwaine reaches into his trouser pocket, pulling out a white business card, the side facing up containing a string of numbers in a relatively neat scrawl. Merlin reaches across the table, looking at the number, before shaking his head and placing it in his pocket.

“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind.” Gwaine smiles.

“I hope to see you soon, Merlin.”

Gwaine walks out of the bookshop, leaving Merlin unsure of how to respond.


	3. Chapter 3

Soon after Arthur’s date with Gwen, Merlin began to see Arthur coming over to the shop more frequently. Within a few weeks, Arthur began showing up once a day, closer to when the shop would close, when perhaps one or two people besides Arthur and Merlin were in the shop. Whenever Arthur came to the shop, he would often go to a section of the bookshop, idly browsing the shelves. Merlin would remain at the register, gaze alternating between the person whose books he was checking out, and the sight of Arthur, face scrunched with concentration, eyes pouring over the various covers of books. Some days, Arthur would forego browsing, instead talking to Merlin. Often times, Merlin would be in the midst of adding new books to the shelves, Arthur standing by his side as he ranted to Merlin about how busy things were at Camelot Ind., or how much pressure Uther put on making sure he was ready to “inherit the position of CEO”, or the most recent prank Morgana had pulled on Arthur (occasionally with the help of Leon or Gwaine). Merlin would mumble a response to Arthur, continuing to put up the new books. Merlin would often keep his eyes focused on the books on the cart or the bookshelves, for the few times Merlin would look over to Arthur, he would see Arthur looking down at him with a ghost of a smile on his face. Or worse: he would see Arthur scrutinising him with the same amount of concentration he did when he would browse the books, blue eyes seeming to pierce his soul, face always holding an expression of a familiarity that couldn’t be placed.

    Oddly enough, Merlin never saw Arthur and Gwen together at the bookshop after that first date. Gwen did come over to the shop on her own a few times, though. Merlin and Gwen would exchange brief small talk before Gwen bought one or two books, the two avoiding the topic of Arthur Pendragon. It did make Merlin somewhat sad that he couldn’t be as good of friends with Gwen as they previously had been. Likely, it was partially because the two are not living and working in the same place like they previously were, but Merlin knew what the true reason was: whenever Merlin thought of Gwen and Arthur being together, he would be hit with the same barrage of emotions, jealousy, possessiveness, a desire to claim Arthur for his own. Since meeting Arthur again, it seemed to be harder and harder for Merlin to suppress those emotions that he had been able to keep in check for so long.

    About six weeks after Arthur and Gwen’s date, Arthur shows up at the bookshop about 15 minutes before the shop is bound to close. One person remains in the shop, a man in his sixties wearing a white dress shirt and khakis, browsing the history books. Arthur gives Merlin a brief _“Hello.”_ , glancing at the man before heading over to the fantasy section, looking over the books there. Merlin could tell that Arthur’s concentration is less than how he normally is, and Merlin notices how Arthur’s gaze alternates between the books in front of him, and the man still in the shop. Eventually the old man walks towards the front door, giving Merlin a small wave before leaving. Arthur watches as the man leaves, walking up to the register a couple of minutes later.

“Merlin.” Arthur flashes a smile.

“Hello, Arthur.” Merlin smiles briefly before looking down, feeling a faint blush on his face.

“Part of me wants to start up some idle chatter, but I’ll know it’ll be useless on you, so I’ll just get straight to the point,” Arthur says. “I likely won’t be able to pass by the shop as often since Father is insistent on me spending more time at Camelot. However, I still want to be able to talk to you, so,” Arthur pauses, fumbling around his trouser pocket before pulling out a business card, flipped over to show a string of numbers written in Arthur’s neat handwriting. “That’s my mobile number.” Arthur scratches the back of his neck. “I might not be able to respond very quickly, but feel free to text me if you want to talk or something.” Merlin smiles, looking over the number written on the business card.

“That all you needed to tell me about?”

“Uh, yeah.” Arthur replies. “That bad?”

“No,” Merlin smirks. “Although it might’ve been nice if you bought a book.” Arthur rolls his eyes.

“I don’t read that often, Merlin. I have no time for it.”

“Ah, right.”

Arthur stares at Merlin, eventually sighing before walking away. Merlin raises an eyebrow, watching as Arthur walks back to the fantasy section, eyes flitting over the spines of the books before grabbing a small paperback, plopping it onto the register. Merlin looks at the cover, flashing a smile when he sees what book it is before checking it out.

“It looked interesting enough,” Arthur mumbles. “I’ll text you when I finish it, or something.”

Merlin nods, giving the book to Arthur, and accepting the 5 quid note Arthur gives him.    

“I’ll talk to you later?” Arthur flashes a smile.

“Yeah. See you later, Merlin.”

    Merlin watches as Arthur walks out of the shop, shaking his head a few minutes after Arthur leaves the shop. He pulls out his mobile, adding Arthur to his contacts before sending Arthur a text.

 

_It’s Merlin. This is my number._

_Thank you, Merlin._

 

\---

    Over the next six weeks, Arthur, as he warned, frequented the store less and less. His visits ranged from every few days, to once a week, to just not showing up at all. The number of texts did end up increasing, to the point where Arthur would text Merlin before or during a meeting, depending on the level of interest in the meeting. Arthur would text him about how _“_ boring this meeting is”, and Merlin would roll his eyes, flashing a small smile down at his phone before replying that Arthur should “focus on his work”.

    Merlin closes the door as he walks into his flat, placing his bag on the floor and taking off his shoes. Immediately, he pads towards his small, book-infested living room, flopping onto the red loveseat, legs hung over the arm rests, head leaning on the opposite. He pulls out his mobile, opening his text messages. Merlin sighs, seeing that there is still no response to the text message he sent two weeks ago, a simple, _“How are you liking the book so far?”_.

    Merlin places his phone on his belly, eyes looking up at the ceiling before sighing again. He knows that he shouldn’t be annoyed with Arthur, he did say that he wouldn’t always be able to respond to text messages in a reasonable manner. However, it was annoying to Merlin. Before now, the longest it took Arthur to respond to a text was about a day, maybe a day and a half. And now, two weeks later, Arthur still had yet to reply to his text message. Merlin sighs, annoyed that something as petty as this was affecting so deeply. He knows that Arthur’s probably busy at Camelot, but his mind can’t help but think of the worst possibilities: _What if Arthur was out with Gwen instead of working? What if Morgana had done something to Arthur? Perhaps Arthur realised that he didn’t actually like spending time with Merlin._

    Merlin sighs, dismissing those irrational thoughts. He picks up his phone again, almost dropping it on his face when he starts to go through his text messages, gaze lingering on the conversation he had been having with Gwaine. He scrolls through the old messages he and Gwaine had exchanged, realising how many times he had turned down an offer from Gwaine to go out to a pub so that he could stay at the bookshop for a few more minutes, seeing if Arthur would show up. Merlin blinks. Perhaps spending some time with Gwaine would be a nice change of pace. Merlin breathes in and out before sending Gwaine a text.

 

_Hey Gwaine, sorry that I haven’t talked to you in a while. I haven’t had the best of days, and am wanting to go get pissed. You up for it?_

 

_I’m always up for getting pissed. How’s The White Horse sound, we can meet up in about half an hour, I have a few loose ends I need to tie up real fast._

 

_That sounds fine._

 

    Merlin leans further into the chair, breathing in and out, trying to suppress the tinge of nervousness and regret he feels.

 

~

    Merlin sits at the bar, staring down at his half-drunken pint, idly swirling what remains in the cup. Occasionally, he glances towards the entrance of the pub, seeing if Gwaine will be coming soon. After a few minutes, Merlin sighs, deliberating whether or not he should just leave, when suddenly, he hears someone burst in the front door. Gwaine nonchalantly struts into the pub, occasionally glancing at women that peaked his interest. He looks around the pub, pace quickening when he sees Merlin sat at the bar. Gwaine plops into the seat next to Merlin’s.

“Merlin!” He exclaims.

“Hi Gwaine.”

“Sorry that I’m a bit late,” Gwaine says, waving the bartender over and pointing towards Merlin’s glass. “Business is suddenly booming at Camelot.” He nods at the bartender when he brings over a full pint of the same beer Merlin is having. The bartender points at Merlin’s glass, and Merlin simply shakes his head.

“Really?” Gwaine raises an eyebrow.

“Have you not read a newspaper, or watched the news in the last few days?”

“Er, no, I don’t really follow that sort of thing.”

“Well, Camelot just bought out Essetir.” Gwaine says.

“The oil company?”

Gwaine nods his head, taking a swing of his pint. “Yeah. The last few weeks have been filled with paperwork, figuring out who to fire,” Gwaine sighs. “It’s been hellish. Uther decided to give Arthur this project so that he can continue to run the rest of the company. He’s actually handling it pretty well, although I don’t how often he’s eaten or slept in the last few days.” Gwaine shrugs. “So, how are things down at the old bookshop?”

“Same as always,” Merlin replies, glancing down at his pint. “A steady enough stream of customers to keep the place going.” Merlin shrugs. “So, how is Arthur, exactly?”

Gwaine shrugs. “I haven’t really seen him as much recently. Around the same time Camelot bought out Essetir, we got a new assignment to protect some duke’s daughter, Elena, I think her name is?” Merlin’s eyes widen briefly, feeling some spark of recognition at the name. Gwaine shrugs. “But, anyways, I think I’ve maybe passed him once or twice in the hallway in the past month or so? He always looked to be in a bit of a rush, carrying God knows how many manilla folders.”

    Merlin nods his head, staring down at his pint before taking a sip from it, beginning to swirl the liquid in the glass. Gwaine sighs, taking another swig from his pint.

“You’re in love with Arthur, aren’t you?” Gwaine asks bluntly. Merlin almost chokes on the sip of his lager.

“I-I’m sorry?” Gwaine sighs, shaking his head.

“I should have known, it’s so obvious in the way you look at him.”

“Gwaine, it’s not like that-”

“Yes, yes it is.” Gwaine replies bluntly. “Look, I’m not mad at you, Merlin. I mean, I would like to have a bit of fun with you, but I’m not gonna try and shag you if you’re pining over someone else. In fact, I’ll do what I can to help you get with Arthur.” Merlin sighs, realising the futility in arguing any further.

“Thank you, I guess.”

Gwaine smirks. “So how long have you been pining over him?”

_Longer than you would ever understand._ Merlin shakes his head. “Er, not too sure.”

“Was it love at first sight?” Gwaine asks. “I wouldn’t be too surprised about that, you do own a bookshop.” Gwaine pauses. “I warn you now, though: I don’t think Arthur’s exactly into guys. Hell, I don’t know if he’s into girls that much, really. Back in university, he only dated two or three girls, all in order to please Uther. The relationships have never lasted more than the first one or two dates, though. It’s not like he went to many parties and shagged people there, either.” Gwaine shrugs. “Guess I don’t really know which way Arthur swings.” Merlin nods in response, taking a small sip from his pint.

“Look, Merlin, I’ll try and harass Arthur within the next few days, make sure that he texts you or calls you or something. Will that make you feel better?” Merlin looks over at Gwaine.

“Gwaine, you don’t need to do that for me.”

“Yes I do.” Gwaine replies. “Besides, I’m your friend, aren’t I? Isn’t that what mates do for each other?”

“Er, yeah, you are,” Merlin nods his head. Gwaine smirks. “Thank you, Gwaine.”

“Anything for a friend.” Gwaine pulls out his phone, scowling at the text he had received. “It appears I need to babysit the younger Pendragon." Gwaine pats Merlin on the back. "Even though this didn't turn out the way I expected, I enjoyed meeting up with you. Hope we can talk soon."

"Bye, Gwaine." Merlin replies, watching as Gwaine walks out of the pub.

 

\---

Merlin lays on the loveseat in his flat, staring up at the ceiling. He sighs, mind replaying snippets of the conversation he had with Gwaine at the pub. Merlin had realised at some point after having to live without Arthur that he was in love with Arthur, but had known that even if Arthur were to return, they would never be able to pursue the relationship Merlin truly desired, knowing that while his place is at Arthur's side, it was for the sake of protection, not for love. Gwen had always had that purpose, would always have that purpose. Even over a thousand years later, Gwen still had that purpose.

Until recently, Merlin had been able to accept those facts, suppressing the emotions he knew that he shouldn't feel. But now, those walls that had been built up over a thousand years, damming up those useless emotions, seem to be crumbling. All because Merlin was able to see Arthur once more.

Merlin sighs, sinking further into the love seat. He was in love with Arthur, and there was nothing he could do about it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's a chance that you're gonna hate me for this chapter...

Merlin’s phone beeps, and Merlin rolls over, groaning to himself. Who the hell texts someone at two in the morning? He glances at the preview of the message on his phone, bolting upright and unlocking his phone. Arthur. Merlin opens the text message, smiling to himself.

 

_So, I thought I would split up reading the book into reasonable chunks. However, today is the most time I’ve had off for the past few months, so I ended up reading it in about six hours. The book is a lot better than I expected, although the language was a bit dense. Er, upon reflection, I realise that this is the first time I’ve texted you in months, and I’m texting you at two in the morning. Sorry about that._

 

Merlin’s smile deepens slightly, typing out a reply to Arthur.

 

_No, it’s fine. I’m glad you liked it. It’s one of my favourite stories. Well, besides any of the stories involving King Arthur._

 

_I thought you wouldn’t like those stories very much. I imagine the taunts during primary school would be enough to prevent you from reading them._

 

Merlin sighs. If only he knew.

 

_Not really. It’s all stories about a brave and noble king, why wouldn’t I read them?_

 

_That’s true. Well, I have work in about six hours, and this is probably the only opportunity that I’ll get to sleep more than four hours, so I’m gonna try and sleep now._

 

_Alright then. Good night, Arthur._

 

_Night Merlin._

\---

About a day after Arthur texts Merlin, he shows up at the bookshop. As he once did, Arthur walks back towards a section of the bookstore at random, choosing to stay near the register. He steals glances at the few people that remain in the bookshop, not truly concentrating on the books he is standing in front of, instead waiting to see if the couple of people in the shop would ever leave. Eventually, the few people that are in the shop leave, one of them leaving with a stack of paperback mystery novels.

Merlin idly counts the cash in the register, occasionally glancing at Arthur, who is still hiding in the history section of the bookstore. He flashes a small smile when he sees that the amount of books the last person bought gives him more profit than the bookstore had had in awhile. Eventually, Arthur walks up towards the register, Merlin closing the register.

“Hi Arthur.”

“Hello, Merlin.” Arthur replies. “I am sorry, I should have given a more substantial explanation as to why I was not responding to your texts, or visiting the shop.”

“Arthur, it’s fine,” Merlin says. “Gwaine gave me an explanation about what was happening at Camelot. Congrats on running the whole project involving Essetir.”

“Er, thanks,” Arthur raises an eyebrow. “What were you doing with Gwaine?”

"Oh, uh, we went out for a pint about a week ago," Merlin replies. “I was, uh, having a bad day.”

Arthur nods his head slowly. “Right. Just a pint?”

“Yeah,” Merlin replies, cringing slightly at what his mind had been thinking of doing with Gwaine. “Just a pint between mates.”

Arthur nods. “Ah. Th-that’s good.” Arthur pauses, shaking his head before sighing. “Er, look, I know that we need to catch up on a few things, but I’d rather not talk about it here.”

“Do you want to come over to my flat?” Merlin asks. “It’s a bit cramped, but it might be better than here.”

“Er, yeah. That’d be fine,” Arthur says. “My house is pretty far from here, anyways, so that’d work out better.”

“Alright.” Merlin says, opening the cash register again. “I need to do a few things real fast, but then we can go.”

Arthur nods. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Er, yeah,” Merlin says. “Could you count this up for me? Should be around a few hundred quid.”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks.”

Merlin places the money back in the register, walking towards the cart half-filled with books by the nonfiction section. He browses through the books on the cart, beginning to place some of the books, the bulk of them thick, hardcover textbooks, on the shelves. Eventually, Merlin wanders over to the fiction section, stocking the shelves there.

“Merlin?” Arthur eventually asks.

“Yeah?” Merlin looks towards the front.

“Does the bookshop normally make this much money?”

“It’s actually the most the shop’s gotten in a while,” Merlin replies.

Arthur frowns slightly. “Oh. Really?”

“Er, yeah.” Merlin looks away from Arthur, not wanting to see Arthur’s expression. He places the last few books on the carts on the shelves before walking up to the register. “I’m finished with stocking the shelves, if you’re ready to go.”

“Er, yeah.” Arthur shakes his head. “Let’s go.”

Arthur begins to walks out of the bookshop, stopping just outside the shop. Merlin grabs his messenger bag, walking up to the cash register, opening it. He flashes a smile when he sees two additional 50 pound notes that he couldn’t recall being in there. Merlin shakes his head, walking out to where Arthur was.

“You took a while.” Arthur says.

“Er, sorry, I had to grab my bag,” Merlin lifts up his bag slightly.

Arthur nods his head slowly, waving a hand. “Lead the way.”

“Right, sorry.” Merlin shakes his head, walking ahead of Arthur. Arthur falls into pace, perhaps two or three steps behind Merlin, eventually walking at Merlin’s side. Merlin’s face flushes slightly when he sees how close Arthur is to him, how easily the pair’s hands could intertwine... Merlin shakes his head, expelling such foolish thoughts.

Merlin and Arthur walk in relative silence, Merlin feeling a slight tension in the air as they arrive at his flat. Merlin pads shoeless to the living room, placing his leather messenger bag infront of one of the bookshelves. Arthur pauses in the foyer, shaking his head before taking his shoes off and following Merlin.

“Er, you can take the chair, if you’d like,” Merlin nods towards the red loveseat. “I can just sit on the floor.”

“Merlin, it’s fine.”

“I insist.”

Arthur sighs, and Merlin swears that he sees Arthur flash a fond smile before replying with an _“Alright.”_ , flopping onto the seat. Merlin takes up residence on the spot of floor in front of Arthur, leaning back onto the stone of his unused fireplace.

“So, what did you need to tell me?” Merlin asks.

Arthur sighs. “Right.” He pauses. “Gwen broke up with me.”

“Arthur, I’m so sorry.” Merlin replies, feeling a mixture of pity, relief, and hope.

Arthur shakes his head. “It’s fine. It was bound to happen. We weren’t able to see each other as often once I had taken up the prospect of the Essetir merger, so it made sense.” He sighs. “I guess that’s what lead her to do what she did.” Merlin raises an eyebrow. “I caught her with her ex-boyfriend, Lancelot. They’re co-workers, so I guess it’d make sense that they’d get back together, but still...”

“Arthur,” Merlin starts, unsure of what else to say.

Arthur exhales. “Well, it’s in the past now, so, I’m getting over it easily enough. It’s not like I’ve had much time to really grieve over it, what with Essetir, and Father trying to get me on more projects...”

“Arthur,” Merlin starts. “How long ago did you and Gwen break up?”

“Maybe about two weeks now?” Arthur replies. “Not able to keep track of days as well recently, so I can’t be sure.”

Merlin nods his head slowly. “Arthur, I really am sorry.”

“Merlin, don’t worry yourself.” Arthur leans over in the chair. Merlin looks up, abruptly looking away when he sees how Arthur’s face is only about a metre away from his. “I’m fine, really.” Arthur shakes his head, leaning back into the seat. “So, Merlin, have you been in the throes of a romance recently?”

Merlin gulps. _The answer should be obvious, shouldn’t it?_ “No, not really. Like you, I haven’t really had the time.”

“Hm.”

The two sit in silence for a while, both unsure of how to fill the void, when Arthur’s stomach loudly rumbles. Merlin glances up to Arthur, a smirk on his face, feeling his face flush slightly when he sees Arthur beginning to smile, flashing a glimpse of his teeth.

“You need some food?” Merlin asks.

“That might be nice.”

“Great,” Merlin gets up off the floor. “I’m getting pretty hungry as well, so I’ll see if I can scrounge anything up for dinner.”

Merlin walks into the kitchen, browsing through the cupboards and refrigerator. He sighs at the lack of food, grabbing some pasta and pesto sauce, and mumbling an incantation to summon some chicken. Merlin peeks his head out from the kitchen.

“How’s pesto sound?”

“That’s fine.” Arthur mumbles.

Merlin nods his head, grabbing a pan from one of the cupboards.

~

Arthur sighs, leaning further back in the chair, gaze idly floating around the living room. Merlin’s flat seems a bit cramped for his liking, likely because of the various books and bookshelves that seemed to litter the place. Just walking in gives Arthur an impulse to summon someone to clean up the place, or to do it himself. Arthur glances over to a desk where a laptop sits closed, raising an eyebrow when he notices a wooden chest that looks older than pretty much everything in the flat. He looks over to the kitchen, seeing Merlin furiously preparing dinner, and is unable to suppress the small smile that comes onto his face. Arthur shakes his head, getting up off the couch, and crawling towards the chest. He pulls it out slightly from underneath the desk, rotating it slightly so the chest is facing him. Arthur begins to open the chest, pausing when it creaks loudly. Arthur glances towards the kitchen again, sighing with relief when Merlin seems to remain unfazed, the sounds of cooking seeming to overpower the sounds the chest would make. Hesitantly, Arthur opens the chest all the way, unsure of how to react once he sees what’s inside.

The chest is filled with...letters, of all things. The letters are written in all kinds of paper, ranging in shades of yellow, brown, and white, the older ones covered in a plastic sheet to protect them from the elements. Arthur grabs a stack of letters at random, noticing that they’re all written in the same handwriting. Arthur’s eyes widen when he begins to read the one at the top of his stack.

_Dear Arthur,_

_About a year after your death, Gaius died...I’m not sure how often I’ll write these letters, I guess I’ll write whenever something crosses my mind that makes me think of you. I guess it doesn’t matter, seeing as how you’ll never actually read these. Regardless, until we meet again, I remain_

_Your faithful servant,_

_Merlin_

Arthur scans the ones in the rest of the stack he had grabbed, seeing that they were all addressed to...him. He feels as if some wool had been pulled over his eyes, gradually falling away. Suddenly, he felt as if there had been a time when he had been a king in this area long, long ago. And Merlin... Arthur glances towards the kitchen, seeing that Merlin is still in the midst of cooking. Merlin had been his manservant. But, there was more to him than that. Arthur shakes his head, going through the rest of the letters, plucking out one at random. This one seemed more recent, written about 30 years ago. Arthur leans against the leg of the desk, beginning to thoroughly read through the letter.

 

_Dear Arthur,_

_The year is about 1983, I think? I haven’t kept track that well recently. I’m in New Orleans, of all places. While the witch trials in Salem had taken place centuries ago by now, I still have always been adamant against coming back to the Americas. But, I don’t know. It’s actually not that bad here. Much of the local superstition here is quite interesting, and while there are only perhaps one or two ghosts that really are in the area, it is a change of pace to see this sort of superstition in this area, especially seeing as how science and technology take over the world, less and less people seem to believe in things like the Fae or spirits._

_A few days ago, I had ended up going to the French Quarter, to Bourbon Street in particular. Clubs fill the street, and the music booming from the clubs resonates throughout the street every night. Perhaps it was because of the aura of superstition, or the alcohol I had drunk, or something else that I could never understand, but I thought I had found you. Or, at least, until I had gotten the name of that person. He just looked so much like you, and perhaps I had been missing you more than normal, but I ended up going to the hotel that the man, I believe his name was Noah, or something like that, was staying at._

_To be frank, I slept with him. He just looked so much like you, perhaps a bit too much like you in my inebriated state. When the two of us climaxed, I bit my lip, moaning out your name. Noah flopped over beside me, quietly panting, eventually turning on his side toward me. Hesitantly, I glanced over to him, my eyes wide, chest still heaving._

_“Arthur?” Noah asked. “Who’s that?”_

_“He is... an old friend of mine.” I replied._

_“Friend?” Noah replied. “I think that’s an understatement. Look, man, it’s fine if you slept with me just to get over some guy, it’s not that big of a deal to me.”_

_I sighed. “Perhaps I did that. I am sorry.”_

_Noah shrugged. “Whatever. It was the best sex I had in awhile.”_

_I shook my head, getting off the bed, beginning to put on my clothes, not caring as I felt semen trailing down my leg. “I should go.”_

_Noah turned on the bed, facing me. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” He paused, watching as I continued to put on my clothes. “I won’t see you again, will I?”_

_I glanced towards Noah. “No. I’m sorry, but no.”_

_Noah shrugged. “Figures. See you never, then, Merlin, right?”_

_Hesitantly, I nodded._

_“Like a fairytale.” Noah murmured._

_As I told him, I never saw Noah again. I’ll likely be leaving here in the next day or so. As it always seems to be recently, I haven’t the faintest clue where I’ll go from here. There is one thing, though, that I know for sure. I have delayed truly considering it for about a thousand years, now, but I think time and time again, the universe seems to insist on proving it._

_Arthur Pendragon, I am in love with you. I believe this to have been a fact for about as long as I have been denying this, probably since your death, perhaps even longer. Frankly, I am glad that you will likely never see these letters, seeing as how I fear how your next life would be altered by seeing these. If you do see these, then I apologise, for I know that I have probably admitted far too much within these letters. Anyways, until we meet again, I shall remain_

 

_Your faithful servant,_

_Merlin_

 

"Arthur," Arthur hears Merlin call.

~

Merlin walks into the living room, eyes widening when he sees Arthur, the chest open beside him, letters strewn across the floor, one of the letters in Arthur's hand as he is immersed in reading it. He drops the plates of food, hearing the plates shatter on the ground. Arthur glances up from the letter, his eyes seeming slightly glazed over.

"Merlin." Arthur says.

"You were never supposed to see those."

Arthur still appears to be in some sort of daze when he places the letter he was reading on the floor, getting up and walking over to Merlin. Arthur pauses for the briefest of seconds before placing his hand on Merlin's cheek, lips crashing into Merlin's. Merlin's eyes are wide, hands frozen at his side, brain slowly coming to the realisation that he is, indeed, kissing Arthur Pendragon. Hesitantly, Merlin closes his eyes, hands traveling up the sides of Arthur's face, fingers wrapping up in his hair.

Despite the kiss’s abrupt start, it doesn't remain as something fueled by desperation and desire. The two remain close-lipped when they first kiss. After a bit, Arthur's tongue teases at Merlin's lips. Merlin parts his lips slowly, tongue lazily intertwining  with Arthur's.

Arthur parts lips with Merlin, kissing a trail down his cheek and neck, hands trailing up Merlin's waist. Arthur nips at Merlin's neck, promptly lathing the bite with his tongue, lightly flicking at a nipple with his thumb over Merlin's shirt.

"Arthur," Merlin sighs with pleasure.

Suddenly, Arthur takes his lips off Merlin's neck, slightly backing away from Merlin. His eyes are wide with something like fear, hair splayed in different directions. Arthur’s eyes dart across the room, finally stopping to rest on Merlin, who is still slightly panting, lips slightly red and kiss-swollen.

Arthur shakes his head. “I-I’m so sorry,”

\Arthur walks over to the foyer, hastily putting on his shoes. Merlin follows him to the foyer, leaning against the wall.

“Arthur-”

“I’m sorry, Merlin.” Arthur says. “I don’t know what came over me.”

Before Merlin can stop him, Arthur opens the door, slamming it shut behind him. Merlin stands in the foyer, staring at the door for a few moments after Arthur leaves. He shakes his head, grabbing a flannel and a broom from the kitchen to clean up the porcelain shards and food that had likely gone cold on the floor. Once the mess is cleaned up, Merlin flops onto the loveseat, lightly touching two fingers to his lips. Despite only doing kissing Arthur for so short a time, Merlin feels as if everywhere Arthur touched him is still burning with heat.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I suck. Sorry that it's been so long since I posted. Between moving and school, I've been really busy. I hope that this makes it up a bit, though, it's a bit of monster of a chapter.

Merlin looks around the shop, noticing that only one person, some university student, is still idly browsing the science section of the bookstore. He sighs. He shouldn’t be surprised that Arthur has not been to the shop in a couple of days. Merlin pulls out his phone, quickly glancing at it, noticing that there are still no text messages. He shouldn’t be surprised by the fact that he hasn’t heard from Arthur at all. Yet, a small part of him feels a mixture of disappointment and surprise at the fact. However, overall, he ultimately feels a mixture of self-resentment and regret. Why did he hang on to those godforsaken letters? How much wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t held onto those stupid things?

Merlin shakes his head when he sees the one person in the shop walking up to the register, a confused look on his face. Merlin raises an eyebrow.

“Do you need help with something?” Merlin asks.

“Er, nothing, sorry,” The student replies. “Thought I recognised you from somewhere.” Merlin nods slowly, frowning slightly. The kid did look somewhat familiar. “Oh, right!” The student says. “I want to buy this.” He places a large science textbook on the counter. “Oh, um, do you only take cash? I don’t have any money on me.”

"No, I can take your card, if need be,” Merlin replies.

“Oh, good.” The student hands Merlin his card.

Merlin glances at the name on the card: Gilli? Oh. Merlin’s eyes widen slightly, shaking his head before swiping the card. Gilli. Merlin rips off the receipt, handing it back to Gilli along with his card. Gilli tilts his head slightly.

“Are you sure that I don’t know you from somewhere?” Gilli asks. Merlin’s eyes widen slightly, unsure of how to respond.

“Perhaps you’ve passed by this shop before?” Gilli’s eyes squint briefly, before he shakes his head.

“Perhaps. Sorry mate, I’ll be on my way. Have a nice day.”

“You too.” Merlin mumbles, watching Gilli grab the massive textbook, and leaving the shop.

Merlin glances around the empty shop, sighing to himself. Well, Arthur’s probably not going to come here anytime soon, so he might as well close up shop. Merlin walks over to the cart, currently sitting in the mystery section, sees that there aren’t enough books on there worth stocking, then leaves the shop.

 ~

After much internal turmoil, Arthur eventually gives in, passing by The Magic of Books, knowing that, as always, he’ll be cutting his visit close to when the shop would normally close. Once getting off the Tube, Arthur begins to walk the all-too-familiar route down to the shop. When he gets close, he raises an eyebrow, noticing that the shop looked much more dim than normal.

Arthur stands at the entrance of the shop, eyes widening slightly when he sees that the shop is, indeed, closed. Arthur pulls out his phone, glancing at the time, frowning. Merlin never closes up before the hours dictated on the peeling sign on the door to the shop, and yet the shop is closed an hour early. He sighs, glancing around the street, eyes passing over a leather messenger bag. Well that was a waste of a Tube trip. Arthur shakes his head, walking back towards the station he had gotten off at around five minutes ago.

\---

Merlin rolls over in bed, slamming his hand on his alarm clock, stopping the god-awful beeping that screeched throughout his bedroom. He sighs, glancing at the time on the clock: seven A.M. Merlin knows that he would have to leave in about an hour so that he could go open the shop, subjecting himself to another day of a few customers idly browsing the second-hand shop, few people actually buying anything. Merlin sighs, trying to will himself to get up, but feeling unable to. One day of the shop being closed wouldn’t hurt anyone, right? It would just be one day, one day that he can use to help him get over the ordeal of Arthur Pendragon. Besides, he had already paid the deposit on his shop, so he won’t even need to worry about money for another few weeks. One day wouldn’t hurt anyone. Merlin rolls over to the other side of his bed, closing his eyes.

\---

The alarm clock goes off again, and Merlin sighs, rolling over in bed to turn it off. He sighs, staring at the time. He should go to the bookshop. He groans, sitting himself up, tucking his knees into his chest, chin resting on the top of his knees. Merlin’s eyes idly glance across the room, before he sighs. He hasn’t opened the bookshop in about a week now, waking up every day for the past week with a groan, slamming his hand on the alarm clock, and rolling over in bed. He still doesn’t feel like opening up the shop, the idea of having to see Arthur not the best thing at the moment. Instead, Merlin gets out of bed, idly wandering to the kitchen. He hears a buzz, and raises an eyebrow, seeing his phone lit up on the counter. Merlin picks up his phone, eyes widening when he checks it.

 

_Merlin, are you alright? The shop hasn’t been open in a while._

 

_Merlin, I’m sorry for what I did, I don’t know what came over me._

 

Merlin gulps, seeing that he also has a voicemail. Hesitantly, he puts the phone to his ear, listening to the recording.

“Er, hi , Merlin. I really am sorry for what I did to you about a week ago. I guess I was just, overwhelmed with emotion?” Arthur lets out a deep sigh. “Look, I’ve been...remembering things. I look at my father, and all I can see is a great king that had been corrupted by the loss of his wife. I look at my sister, and I see this twisted sorceress. But, at the same time, I know that’s not who they are. My father is the head of Camelot Industries, my sister is her assistant, and I am still in the middle of training to take my father’s place. And now,” Arthur pauses. “I’m remembering more as time goes on. I feel as if I’m living in two different worlds at once, unsure of which one is the right one.” He sighs. “Please, Merlin, I need to see you again, I feel as if you will be able to help me figure out what’s going on.” There is a brief pause before the recording ends.

Merlin is frozen in place, mouth slightly open, eyes wide. Slowly, his phone falls out of his hand, and it’s only with the thud it makes that Merlin is taken out of his daze. Merlin shakes his head, kneeling on the floor to pick up his phone. So he’s really beginning to remember... Merlin sighs. The question is, how much does he remember?

\---

Merlin’s phone buzzes, and he groans, getting up off the loveseat, and grabbing his phone from off the kitchen counter. He rubs his eyes, groaning again. Had he really fallen asleep on the loveseat again? He flops onto the seat, unlocking his phone to listen to the voicemail that had been left.

Merlin hears an all too familiar sigh, and his eyes widen slightly, beginning to sit in the seat properly. “Merlin. I hope you’re alright. Look, I really am sorry about what happened a couple of weeks ago. I’ve, I’ve passed by the shop pretty much every day these last few weeks, and it’s always been closed. I realise that it’s all because I’ve messed up.” Arthur pauses. “And, I know it’s all my fault, and I just don’t know how to make this better. So, what do I need to do? I’ll do anything I can Merlin, I will. I just want to see you again, and, besides, this can’t be good for you, can it? To just, sit at home or whatever it is you’re doing.” Arthur sighs. “Forget what I just said. Just know that, I’m sorry, alright?”

Merlin stares at the phone in his hand. He shakes his head when it buzzes, and pulls up his text messages.

 

_Did you and Arthur have some sort of lover’s spat?_

 

Merlin raises an eyebrow. Gwaine?

 

_We’re not a couple, Gwaine._

 

_You might as well be, what with the way he’s been talking about you. So, did you two have some sort of fight or something?_

 

_Well, yes. I’d rather not go into detail._

 

_Whatever, it doesn’t matter that badly to me. Look, can you two just kiss and make up, or whatever the hell? Arthur’s been moping for the last couple of weeks, and Uther’s not too happy about it._

 

Merlin smirks, quietly laughing at Gwaine’s response.

 

_I can’t guarantee anything, but I’ll try, alright?_

 

_Damn straight you will._

 

There’s about a minute before an additional text is sent by Gwaine.

 

_In all seriousness, though. I hope you two will get through whatever you’re fighting over. I know that Arthur hasn’t known you for long, but something seems right about you being with him. It seems like you balance him out, or something._

 

Merlin flashes a small smile at the text. Perhaps he should call Arthur. Merlin idly flips the phone in his hand, almost dropping it when it begins to ring. He puts the phone to his ear.

“Ah, Merlin, I finally get a response from you,” Arthur says. Merlin’s eyes widen slightly.

“Er, hi Arthur.”

“You haven’t been at the shop for a few weeks, I was getting worried,” Arthur says.

“Yeah, um, sorry, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”

"As have I,” Arthur replies. “Listen, if you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to you at your flat.”

"That’s uh,” Merlin pauses. “That’s fine.”

“Good. I’m heading over there anyways, so it wouldn’t have mattered what you said.” Merlin snickers, rolling his eyes.

“Prat.”

“Of course I am, idiot.” Arthur replies fondly. “I-I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Bye Arthur.”

“Bye Merlin.”

~

About fifteen minutes after getting the call from Arthur, Merlin hears a knock at the door. He gets up off the loveseat, idly fumbling with his hair before opening the door. Arthur stands at the door, his initially neutral expression soon melting into a raised eyebrow and a smirk holding back a snort.

"Nice hair.” Merlin rolls his eyes.

"I fell asleep on the couch, alright?” He runs a hand through his hair again.

Arthur groans, beginning to walk into the flat, lifting a hand to run roughly over Merlin’s hair a few times. He eventually tuts, eventually shrugging and dropping the hand to his side. Merlin’s face flushes slightly, turning the most messed up part of his hair towards Arthur.

“There’s no way I can fix that.” Arthur mumbles, shaking his head. “Er, sorry. Can I come in?”

“No reason for you to ask, seeing as how you’re already inside.”

“Er, yeah,” Arthur turns around, closing the door. He slips off his dress shoes, keeping on his black socks.

Arthur follows Merlin, the pair walking over to the living room. Merlin sits on the floor, back leaning on the marble of the fireplace. Arthur shows a hint of hesitance in his face before he sits on the loveseat, looking down at Merlin.

"So, have you just been here for the past few weeks?” Arthur asks.

“Er, yeah.”

“Ah,” Arthur nods his head. “I should have figured. I think I drove Gwaine mad, trying to figure out where the hell you’ve been recently.” Merlin snorts.

“I can imagine. He texted me, saying something about how I was all you had been talking about.” Arthur rolls his eyes.

“I believe that to be an exaggeration. Just because I’ve mentioned you occasionally, doesn’t mean you’re the only thing I talk about.” Merlin smirks. The pair sit in silence for a few moments, Merlin finally breaking the silence with a sigh.

“Arthur? Exactly how much do you remember?”

“About the past?” Arthur pauses, seeming to rack his brains. “Well, pretty much everything.”

“So you remember about...” Merlin lets his words trail off. Arthur nods his head.

“...Do you still have magic?”

Merlin glances to the fireplace. He closes his eyes, reaching out a hand, eyes opening and flashing gold. A fire starts in the fireplace. Merlin tilts his hand upwards. Initially, a few orange sparks fly up, more flying over time, eventually mashing together to form a dragon similar in appearance to Kilgharrah, idly flapping its wings, lifting its head towards a sky that can’t be seen. Arthur flashes a small smile.

“You did the same thing for me, back then...” Merlin closes his hand, and the spark dragon disappears, the fire dying out a few seconds after.

“Yeah, I did.” He sighs. “So, you’re fine with this? My magic does not fit well with this age of technology and science. If anything, some might view it to be a step back.”

“Of course,” Arthur replies. “I mean, it was a shock back then, but it ultimately didn’t phase what I truly thought of you.” Merlin looks over to Arthur.

“Those things you said, before you died... I thought you were just trying to console me.”

“Merlin,” Arthur says. “I am always sincere about what I say, especially to those who matter to me most in life.” Merlin gulps, placing his knees near his chest.

“So, do you remember anything about the time between your death and your return?”

“Well, I do know that I was raised as a child, not just placed back on Earth as myself at the age of eighteen.” Arthur pauses. “As time goes on, and the lines between my past life and this one become more distinct, I feel as if I can recall my soul being squished into a sphere of some sort, being pulled out of the river and into somewhere in the real world. But, perhaps I’m just fabricating some absurd story.” Arthur pauses, watching Merlin nod his head. “So, in your letters, you mentioned a girl named Aryana.” A wave of sadness and nostalgia washes over Merlin.

“Yes, I did.”

"Did you love her?”

"Of course I did, with all my heart,” Merlin shakes his head, trying not to linger on the memories for too long. “She was so much like you...”

"Is that why you loved her?” Merlin’s eyes widen.

"No not really...” He sighs. “Well, perhaps... Yes. It was a small aspect, but it is part of why I loved her.” Arthur nods.

“So, are the letters true? You’re in love with me?” Merlin sighs.

“As I mentioned in the letters, I have spent much time on my own. I have had over a thousand years to deliberate my relationship and feelings towards you. I avoided the topic so many times, worrying about what would happen if I were to dwell on the topic.” He pauses. “Ultimately, I came to accept the fact that I love you. I had hoped to keep these emotions a secret. I feared that if you were to find out about how I felt about you, that your destiny would be altered negatively.”

Arthur smiles.

"I don’t think you loving me has altered my destiny much, if at all. These past few weeks, I have not only mulled over seperating my past and present lives, but how I felt about you. I soon came to realise that I am love with you as well, Merlin.” Merlin’s eyes widen.

“My role is not to be your lover, Arthur. We may be two sides of the same coin, but I ultimately just your protector. Nothing more, nothing less. Gwen is the person who is meant to be...at your side.” Arthur frowns.

“Perhaps that was how it was in the past, but the past is just that. I do still love Gwen, but not with the intensity that I felt in my past life. Now, it has dwindled to something more reminiscent of the love shared between friends.” He pauses. “Besides, she has Lancelot, just like she wanted in the past.”

“She did love you, Arthur. More than any woman that I have ever seen you with.”

“She also loved Lancelot, though,” Arthur replies. “Perhaps this is what’s supposed to happen, Merlin. Perhaps this reincarnation is supposed to mend what had happened in the past.”

“I don’t think destiny would dictate for us to be lovers, though.” Arthur quietly snickers. “You sound like my father. Trying to hold on to a tradition that has become somewhat obsolete.” Merlin scowls. “This is a new life, Merlin. With a new life comes change. Let change happen.”

Hesitantly, Merlin looks over to Arthur, gulping once. Arthur has a slightly pleading look on his face, mouth curled into a small smile. Arthur leans over, holding his hand out to Merlin. Merlin stares briefly at Arthur’s hand, his own hand shaking before he grabs onto Arthur’s. Arthur pulls Merlin up, the pair standing up. Arthur’s hand twists, intertwining his fingers with Merlin’s. Merlin looks up to Arthur, whose blue eyes seem to look straight into his soul, a small smile on his face. With his other hand, Arthur caresses the side of Merlin’s cheek, pulling him into a gentle kiss. Merlin’s eyes close, his free hand lightly touching the back of Arthur’s neck. Arthur begins to deepen the kiss, his tongue pushing past Merlin’s lips-

The sound of Arthur’s stomach growling fills the room, soon followed by Merlin’s stomach. The pair burst into quiet giggles, Merlin resting his head in the crook of Arthur’s neck.

“Well then.” Merlin mumbles before bursting into quiet giggles again.

“Perhaps we should get some food.” Arthur snickers. Merlin looks up at Arthur.

“Do you mind if I just get some takeout? I don’t really feel like cooking.”

“That’s fine.” Arthur replies. “Chinese?”

“Wonderful.” Merlin replies. He takes his head out of the crook of Arthur’s neck, pausing before pecking Arthur on the lips, searching the living room until he can find his phone, which had found its way under the loveseat.

~

The pair are sat on the floor in front of the loveseat, Merlin curled into Arthur’s side, idly picking at the remaining orange chicken in his takeout container. Arthur has one arm curled around Merlin, the other holding the pretty much empty paper container, the disposable chopsticks sticking out of it.

"I don’t remember you eating this slow.” Arthur says.

“You don’t need to stay here,” Merlin replies, taking another bite of chicken. “If you’re honestly that impatient.”

“No, it’s fine,” Arthur says. “I was just teasing you.” Merlin looks up to Arthur, rolling his eyes before taking a bite of rice.

“Prat.” Arthur flashes a smile.

“Indeed.”

Merlin rolls his eyes in response, taking a few more bites of chicken and rice before grabbing Arthur’s empty takeout container, walking over to the kitchen and tossing the two containers into the bin. He begins to walk back to the living room, almost bumping into Arthur, who is stood in the entrance between the kitchen and living room. Arthur idly intertwines one of his hands with Merlin’s.

“Arthur,” Merlin starts. “Are you sure that you want to do this?”

“I have never wanted anything more in my life.” Arthur replies.

Merlin nods slowly. “Good.”

Arthur smiles, his free hand lifting up to caress the back of Merlin’s head before pulling him into a kiss. Merlin lightly kisses back, hand scrunching up Arthur’s hair as Arthur deepens the kiss. Merlin fights for dominance in the kiss, soon giving up and realising he would never be the one. Arthur parts lips with Merlin, kissing a trail down Merlin’s cheek and to his neck. Arthur lightly nips at Merlin’s neck, eliciting a quiet moan from Merlin before lathing the spot with his tongue. One of Arthur's hands slide under Merlin's shirt, lightly caressing a trail up Merlin's chest before rubbing Merlin's nipple. Arthur smirks into the crook of Merlin’s neck when Merlin moans, continuing to rub circles around Merlin’s nipple with his thumb. Arthur’s other hand trails down Merlin’s waist, eventually brushing his fingers along Merlin’s cock through his trousers. Merlin backs away from Arthur, slightly panting.

“Arthur,” Merlin starts, gulping once. “I’d rather not do this here.”

"Er, yes,” Arthur pauses. “Lead the way, I guess?”

Merlin smiles, grabbing Arthur’s hand and leading him down the short hallway, and opening a white door. The room is sparsely furnished, the only furniture being a double bed with white sheets, a black nightstand near the bed, and a wooden desk covered in a few paperback novels.

“This is different from the rest of the flat.” Arthur mumbles.

Merlin rolls his eyes, spinning Arthur around and pushing him onto the bed. Merlin straddles Arthur, wrapping his hands up in Arthur’s hair before pressing a kiss to Arthur’s lips. Arthur smirks, wrapping his hands around Merlin’s neck, grinding up against Merlin’s crotch. Merlin moans, arching his back. Arthur takes advantage of this, flipping Merlin over, and pinning Merlin beneath him.

“No you don’t.” Arthur smirks.

Arthur kisses Merlin again, hands trailing down the side of Merlin’s body before pulling off his t-shirt. Merlin moves away from Arthur briefly, fully taking off the shirt, and throwing it onto the floor near the bed. Arthur lays Merlin down, kissing a trail down Merlin’s neck and to his chest. Arthur sucks on one of Merlin’s nipples, lightly nipping at it, one hand rubbing the other. Arthur’s hands travels down Merlin’s sides, briefly lifting off Merlin and fumbling with the zipper on Merlin’s trousers. Merlin thrusts his hips up, shaking off his trousers and throwing them on the floor where his shirt is. Arthur sheds his shirt, throwing on the ground before fumbling with his own trouser zipper, eventually pulling off his trousers and throwing them to the floor.

Arthur places his head near Merlin belly, kissing a trail along Merlin’s hip bone, hands sliding up Merlin’s thighs. He abruptly takes off Merlin’s pants, throwing them on the floor and eyeing Merlin’s half-hard cock. Arthur licks a trail up Merlin’s shaft, lightly tonguing at the head before swallowing down Merlin’s cock. Arthur’s head bobs up and down Merlin’s shaft, occasionally pausing to tongue at the head of Merlin’s cock. Merlin moans, hands wandering to grab at Arthur’s hair, hips lightly thrusting into Arthur’s mouth. The process goes on for a few minutes, Arthur taking his head off of Merlin’s cock with an obscene pop. The two are panting heavily, and Arthur looks at Merlin’s face, lips kiss-swollen, flushed, and pupils blown. Arthur leans over to the nightstand, pulling open the single drawer on it. He raises an eyebrow when he sees the drawer filled with condom packets, a small bottle of lube taking up about a third of the drawer.

“Merlin, Merlin.” Arthur mumbles, grabbing the bottle of lube, opening the cap with a click, and dumping a glob into his open hand.

Arthur rubs the lube along his fingers before leaning down near Merlin’s hips. Merlin spreads his legs slightly, and Arthur moves his hand closer to Merlin’s arse before gently pushing in a single finger. He slowly thrusts his fingers in and out of Merlin’s anus. Merlin eventually quietly moans, and Arthur pauses, trying to rub the spot he had hit, and smirking when Merlin moans again, louder than before. After hitting Merlin’s prostate a few times, Arthur slowly adds an additional finger before pushing in again. Arthur scissors his fingers, trying to hit Merlin’s prostate with every thrust. Merlin quietly moans, clenching around Arthur’s fingers.

After adding a third finger and thrusting his fingers in and out a few times, Arthur pulls out his fingers, reaching over to the nightstand and pulling out a condom. He looks down to Merlin, who nods slightly. Arthur smiles, ripping the condom packet open with his teeth, and stroking himself a few times before rolling the condom onto his cock. Arthur leans over Merlin, hands behind Merlin’s head, and kisses him before slowly thrusting. Merlin tightens around Arthur’s cock, and Arthur deepens his kiss with Merlin, getting him to relax enough that Arthur can push his cock in a bit deeper. Arthur parts lips with Merlin, beginning to slowly thrust in and out of him. Arthur’s hand trails down the side of Merlin’s waist, eventually grabbing Merlin’s cock and slowly stroking it. Merlin moans, and Arthur begins to thrust quicker, trying to keep the strokes along Merlin’s cock in rhythm with his thrusts, hitting Merlin’s prostate with every other stroke.

The sound of panting fills the room, moans becoming much louder than before. Arthur kisses Merlin, feeling Merlin wraps his fingers in Arthur’s hair as his thrusts and strokes grow faster. Merlin moans into Arthur’s mouth, and Arthur moans in response as he feels Merlin grow tighter around his cock. Arthur parts lips with Merlin, leaving a trail of kisses along Merlin’s neck.

“Arthur-!” Merlin grunts, tightening around Arthur’s cock.

Arthur feels Merlin ejaculate, coating their stomachs with semen, and Arthur follows soon after, biting back a moan and thrusting again before he sees stars. Arthur thrusts a few more times, much slower than before, trying to slow down his breathing. Eventually, Arthur flops onto the bed besides Merlin, the pair still panting slightly. Arthur takes off the condom, tying it and dropping it into the bin by the nightstand.

The two lie in silence for awhile, still both panting. Arthur eventually rolls over on his side, looking over to Merlin.

“Well then,” Arthur mumbles. “That was the best shag I’ve had ever.” Merlin rolls his eyes, glancing over to Arthur.

"Well, I hope I can be more than that.”

“Of course you are.” Arthur says. “And you will always be more than just a casual shag.”

Merlin rolls over on his side, draping an arm over Arthur’s waist, a smile on his face. Arthur gives Merlin a quick peck.

“I love you.” Arthur says.

Merlin pauses, seeming to take in the fact that indeed, Arthur Pendragon is saying those words to him. His smile widens.

“I love you too.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm sorry that it's been like twenty years since I last posted. Between school work and Nanowrimo, I haven't had much time to write. So, I'm posting the last two chapter today, just to kinda finish it up. I hope you enjoy!

Merlin feels something warm on his forehead, and bats it away, grumbling before rolling over in bed. Eventually, his eyes flicker open, and he looks up to see Arthur with his head in one hand, looking down at Merlin with a smile on his face.

“Morning.” Arthur says.

“Er, morning.” Merlin yawns, rubbing at his eyes. He lifts up the blanket, eyes widening slightly. “Right. Last night did happen.”

Arthur nods. “You thought it was a dream?”

Merlin blushes slightly. “Er, I’ve had similar dreams in the past millennia.” He pauses. “So, you were serious yesterday, right? About...”

Arthur nodded his head, an eyebrow raised. “Of course I am.”

“...Good.” Merlin pecks Arthur on the lips. “Er, when are you supposed to be at work?”

Arthur raises an eyebrow, looking over at the nightstand, where an alarm clock sat. His eyes widen. “Oh. In about 45 minutes.”

Merlin rolls his eyes. “Of course. Bathroom’s across the hall, I’m guessing you’re gonna want to shower. I’ll go make some food.”

“Thank you, Merlin.”

“It’s fine. Look, technology isn’t exactly compatible with my magic, so you’re gonna have to hurry up. I would say I can just teleport you there, but that requires effort that I don’t have this early.”

“Well then.” Arthur still lies in bed.

Merlin rolls his eyes. “Well, go on!”

Arthur jumps out of bed, retrieving his clothes from the rumpled pile on the floor, quickly sniffing them before shaking his head, and going over to the bathroom. Merlin groans, getting out of bed, and walking over to his closet. He idly browses through his clothes, eventually grabbing a pair of grey jeans and a black dress shirt. He runs a hand through his hair, walking into the kitchen.

Merlin opens up the fridge, sighing when he remembered that he hadn’t bought any food in the past few weeks. He closes the door to the fridge, grabbing one of the pans sitting on the stove before flicking his hands. A carton of eggs appears on the counter beside the stove, a package of bacon next to it, and a carton of tea. Merlin rummages through the cabinets, eventually pulling out a kettle. He fills the kettle with water, placing it on the stove before cracking a few eggs open, watching as they fall into the pan.

Eventually, Arthur walks into the kitchen, ruffling a hair through his damp hair. Merlin looks over to him, flashing a smile.

“Breakfast should be ready soon.” Merlin says.

“Alright,” Arthur says. “You should probably take a shower too.”

“I know,” Merlin replies. “I just need to finish cooking this.”

The kettle whistles loudly, and Merlin walks over to one of the higher cabinets, reaching up to grab a few mugs before placing them on the counter with a faint thud. He grabs two plates, unceremoniously dumping an egg and a few strips of bacon onto each plate. Merlin hands Arthur one of the plates, kissing him on the cheek before heading off to the bathroom.

“Er, Merlin?” Arthur calls.

Merlin stops walking, turning to Arthur. “Yeah?”

“This may seem like a weird question, but, would you like to come to work with me today?” Arthur says. “I’d get if you need to actually open up shop today, but otherwise...”

Merlin nods. “No, no, that’s fine. I’d love to come.”

“Oh. Brilliant.”

Merlin nods his head slowly. “I’ll go shower.”

“Er, yeah.”

Merlin rolls his eyes, walking into the bathroom.

~

Merlin and Arthur are sat next to each other on the Tube, on one of the less filled cars, their hands resting near each other. Arthur glances down, hesitantly intertwining his hand with Merlin’s, and squeezing it once. Merlin glances down, a small smile on his face, before squeezing back.

“So, I was just thinking about it, but, are you sure that you can afford to have the bookshop closed so often?” Arthur asks.

“Remember that whole I’ve been alive for the past millennia?” Merlin asks. Arthur nods. “Well, I’ve had to do all sorts of jobs. They were never the best jobs, usually things that paid what would be the minimum wage of the time, but, I always made sure to save up a small amount. Mostly, I just hid away any spare money in that chest where I kept the letters.”

“Once banks came about, I was able to just store money there. Of course, I would have to change the name every 75 years or so, but I saved up a fair amount of money, even with the whole having to worry about converting currency thing.” Merlin shrugs. “So, the bookshop isn’t needed, in all honesty. I mostly started working there, and eventually taking it over so I had something to do to pass the time.” Merlin pauses. “Kilgharrah had never told me exactly when you would return. I didn’t take that too well initially, but after the first century, I came to realise that I would wait as long as I needed for you to return.”

Arthur smiles. “So, do you think you’ll still keep open that bookshop now that you’ve found me?”

Merlin shrugs. “I’m not too sure. In the grand scheme of things, the shop has been part of my life for a very short period of time, but, I don’t know. I like being there.” He pauses. “Maybe I’ll hand it off to someone I trust, but that ultimately depends on how things turn out.”

“Hm.” Arthur replies. Hesitantly, Arthur leans over, resting his head on Merlin’s shoulder. Merlin smirks, resting his head near Arthur’s.

~

Arthur adjusts his tie, glancing up at the building he had seen hundreds of times before.

“Er, thanks for coming again.” Arthur says. “You still have time to leave, I hope you know that..”

“It’s fine,” Merlin replies. He glances down at his clothing. “Er, I hope I look formal enough.”

Arthur shrugs. “Father will either notice and not care, or call you out on it.” He looks over at Merlin. “You should be fine, though.” Arthur begins to reach out his hand, shaking his head, and placing a hand in front of him. “Ready?”

Merlin nods. Arthur flashes a smile before walking up to the glass doors, which slide open automatically. A woman sits in front on a long, circular desk, a sign for Camelot Industries behind her. She looks up from the computer she is furiously typing on, flashing a smile.

“Ah, good morning Mr. Pendragon.” The woman says.

“Morning.”

“Oh, who’s that?” The woman points to Merlin, who has just walked up besides Arthur.

“Ah, this is Merlin,” Arthur replies. “He’s, a friend of mine. He might be getting a job here.”

Merlin raises an eyebrow, glancing over to Arthur, who flashes a quieting look back at Merlin.

“Ah,” The woman says. “Hope to see you here more often, Merlin, yes?”

“Er, yeah, I hope so too.” Merlin says.

Arthur waves at the woman, walking away from the desk, Merlin following soon after. They walk over to an elevator, standing in silence as it goes up to the fifth floor of the building. Merlin glances around the elevator, made of clear glass. As a result of where the elevator is located, Merlin can look at the skyline of London, spotting the Eye in the distance.

Eventually, the elevator doors slide open, and Merlin shakes his head, quietly following Arthur. Merlin glances around the large room they walk into, filled with grey cubicles, the idle noise of typing and phones ringing filling the air. Arthur pauses beside many of the cubicles, saying hello to pretty much any employee who passes him, introducing Merlin to the variety of employees. Merlin can’t help the small smile on his face when he recognises more and more people from when they were servants or knights in the old Camelot.

“Do you really know the name of every person at this company?” Merlin asks.

“At least that,” Arthur replies. “Sometimes more. Depends on how much someone tells me. My father thought it would be a good idea to know everyone at the company, since I’ll be inheriting it soon.” Arthur shrugs. “It makes sense, I guess.”

Merlin nods. Arthur and Merlin continue to walk until they get to the back, where there is a long hallway, which splits off into offices that are slightly larger than the cubicles. They walk down to the end of the hall, stopping at a single office. Arthur goes to open the door, widening it almost all the way. Merlin walks in, eyes darting around.

The office is fairly large, one side of the room lined with wooden bookshelves and metal filing cabinets. On the other side is a large desk with papers strewn across it, a laptop open in the middle of the storm on the desk. By the desk is a door that remains closed as the pair walk into the office. Arthur pulls a chair, smaller than the one behind Arthur’s desk, over to the front of the desk.

“Have a seat.” Arthur says.

“Er, thanks.” Merlin replies, before flopping into the chair. “Is there any way I can help you?”

“Not really,” Arthur replies. “Unless, could you get me a cup of coffee? Tea’s not always strong enough for me.”

“Yeah,” Merlin nods, starting to get up.

“Good,” Arthur says. “Um, remember that open room we passed on the way down here?” Merlin nods. “That’s the break room, anything and everything you’d need to make coffee is there.”

Merlin nods again, going out of the office.

As he expects, there is a rather large selection of coffee. There are two different coffee pots, both black, and brown, wooden cabinets with thin, silver handles line much of the room. At the end of the cabinets, there’s a small fridge with three shelves, the top shelf holding various creamers and milks, and the other two holding the sacks from the few people who would bring their lunches to work. After browsing through the cabinets, and failing to understand how the coffee machines work (they are much more elaborate than the standard ones Merlin is used to), Merlin shakes his head, mumbling a few incantations. A styrofoam cup appears in his hand, filled to the brim with steaming coffee. The coffee is strong, bitterness slightly staved by the splash of milk and one sugar.

Merlin walks out of the break room, bumping into a woman. Merlin immediately backs away, seeing a few drops of coffee splash onto the floor. He looks up, raising his free hand.

“I’m so sorry,” Merlin mumbles.

“Oh no, it’s fine.” The woman replies in a familiar voice. Merlin gulps, feeling his eyes widen for a brief moment. “I didn’t see you there.”

“Er, no, me neither.”

“Did you spill any of that?” Morgana replies, looking around the floor. She shrugs. “Not enough to matter, I guess.” She pauses, looking Merlin over, an inquisitive look on her face that quickly disappears. “Do I know you from somewhere?”

“Er, no,” Merlin replies. “I, um, I’m a prospective employee.”

“Oh, really?” Morgana replies. She walks into the break room, walking over to the leftmost coffee pot. She glances at the pot, noticing that there’s coffee in there, and shrugs before going to grab a mug, and pouring herself a cup. She sips at it, cringing for the briefest of seconds.

“Yeah.”

“What department?” Morgana replies.

“I-I’m not quite sure. I guess wherever I’m needed.”

“Hmm,” Morgana takes a sip of coffee. “Well, then, I hope to see you around the office, ...”

“Merlin.”

Morgana raises an eyebrow. “Merlin. Bye for now, then.”

“Bye.” Merlin wraps his hands around the cup of coffee, eyes flashing gold for a brief second once Morgana has turned around. The cup instantly warms, and Merlin begins to walk down the hall.

Soon after he begins to walk, Merlin realises that Morgana is indeed, heading over to Arthur’s office. He slows his walking slightly, cringing for a brief second. Morgana opens the door to Arthur’s office, Merlin catching the half-closed door.

Morgana glances over to the door. “Oh, Arthur, didn’t realise you had already taken on the new kid.”

Arthur glances over to Merlin. “Ah. I guess you two have met.”

“Indeed,” Morgana turns to Merlin briefly. “He almost spilled coffee on me.”

“Ah, that’s where it went.” Arthur waves his hand, and Merlin walks over, placing the coffee on Arthur’s desk, attempting to avoid the array of papers. Arthur flashes a smile at Merlin before taking a sip of coffee. “Merlin, this is my sister, Morgana.”

Merlin nods.

“So Arthur, am I going to see Merlin around this office more often?” Morgana asks.

Arthur glances over to Merlin. “Perhaps.”

“Hm. I think I would like that.” Morgana takes a sip of her untouched coffee. “I’m going to start on my work. Arthur, do tell me Father has something for you to do besides ogle the new boy?”

Arthur raises an eyebrow. “Er, yes.”

“Good. I’ll see you boys later.” Morgana saunters out of Arthur’s office, walking over to the door by Arthur’s desk and leaving.

Merlin glances over to Arthur, who goes to sit at his desk, flipping open the laptop. “Arthur, does Morgana...?”

“I don’t think so,” Arthur replies. “I haven’t seen anything that would say that she remembers or has any, magic. Of course, I never noticed anything like that until it was too late, I guess.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t think fate would allow you to learn until you did,” Merlin mumbles before shaking his head. “Look, maybe I should leave-”

“No!” Arthur’s hand reaches across the table, grabbing Merlin’s. “Um, no. Please don’t go. I...like having you here.” He pauses. “You’ve talked about how your magic has become irrelevant, right?”

“Uh, yes.”

“Well, I’m sure the same would be the case for Morgana. Especially because she was weaker than you, yes?”

“I don’t think weaker would be the right term. Perhaps uneducated.”

Arthur raises an eyebrow. “You understand what I mean, though. In this day and age, is there much that she can do?”

Merlin pauses. “Maybe about as much as I can do. But even what I can do, while somewhat weaker, is still a lot. I can’t take the risk, I need to make sure you’re protected.”

“Merlin,” Arthur says. “I’m not the ignorant buffoon I was as a youth. I have all of those memories, in addition to my current ones. I’ll find a way to survive, with you by my side. Don’t expect to be my protector from the sidelines anymore.”

“I guess.” Merlin pauses. “Just know Arthur, that if things go bad, I won’t hesitate to do what I must.”

Arthur’s hand draws away from Merlin’s. He leans across the table, coming face-to-face with Merlin. “You are not going to kill my sister.”

Merlin glances to the side door, breathing in and out to prevent his voice from rising. “If your life is threatened, I’m not going to hesitate to do what’s needed. I am not going to make those same mistakes, Arthur.”

“Merlin, I’m not some defenceless possession, I can defend myself.”

Merlin backs away from Arthur, the chair rolling back with him. “I know,” He sighs. “I just, I can’t lose you again, Arthur. The first time you died, were it not for the fact that I seem to be immortal, or bound to you, or whatever, I would have killed myself. Having to see you die in front of my eyes once more...” Merlin shakes his head.

Arthur leans back, sliding his hand across the table, palm up. Hesitantly, Merlin scoots back towards the desk, placing his hand in Arthur’s. Arthur squeezes Merlin’s hand. “It won’t come to that, I promise. We’ll stop the problem before then.”

Merlin exhales. “I hope so.”

\---

Merlin is in the bookshop, empty as the day draws to a close, the cart beside him. He’s in the science fiction section, picking through the paperbacks on the cart to find the appropriate novels. Suddenly, his phone buzzes. Merlin pulls it out, going to his messages.

 

_Can I come over?_

 

Merlin raises an eyebrow.

 

_Um, yeah. Are you alright?_

 

_Not really. I’ll tell you when I get there. I can be over by around 6:30, does that work for you?_

 

_Yeah, I’m going to be closing up shop in about 15 minutes._

 

_Good. Thank you, Merlin._

 

_Of course._ Hesitantly, Merlin sends an additional text. _I love you._

 

_I love you too._

 

Merlin can’t help but scowl at how he gets uncharacteristically giddy. The two had seen each other just the other day, yet Merlin feels almost as if he’s walking on air. Oh how love warps one’s mind. Merlin shakes  his head, resuming his stacking of books, falling into a practised rhythm.

~

A pot filled with pasta is just finished cooking when Merlin hears a knock at the door. He turns off the stove, letting the pasta and sauce cool as he goes to open the door. Arthur stands on the front step, throwing his arms around Merlin. Merlin lets out a gust of air, hesitantly hugging Arthur back.

“Well then,” Merlin’s eyes flash briefly, and the door closes with a faint slam. “I imagine you have a lot to talk about?”

“Yes.” Arthur mumbles into Merlin’s shirt.

“Alright,” Merlin pushes Arthur back, hands on his shoulders, placing his forehead on Arthur’s. “First, let’s have dinner. Is that alright?”

Arthur nods, sighing once. Merlin flashes a small smile, walking towards the kitchen, and pulling out a couple of plates. After about a minute, he hears Arthur pad into the kitchen, coming up beside Merlin and grabbing the plate held out to him.

“Food should be ready, just grab what you want,” Merlin glances over to Arthur.

Arthur nods, serving himself a small portion of food. Merlin glances over worriedly before shaking his head, and grabbing food for himself. The pair pad into the living room. Merlin goes to sit by the fireplace, glancing over to Arthur. Arthur is looking over at Merlin, a strange look on his face. Merlin rolls his eyes in a loving manner before going to sit on Arthur’s lap, legs draping one of the armrests, back leaning against the other.

The pair eat in silence for a few minutes, after manoeuvring themselves so that they could eat without their plates clinking together loudly. Arthur mostly picks at his food, mind lost elsewhere. Merlin sighs, placing his empty plate on the floor, and grabbing Arthur’s to do the same thing.

“Alright,” Merlin shifts slightly in Arthur’s lap. “Let’s talk.”

Arthur sighs. “Morgana, she knows about our relationship, somehow.”

Merlins nods. “Okay. Has she told anyone else?”

“As far as I know, no.”

“Good. So, why are you worried?”  
Arthur sighs again, shaking his head. “You haven’t met my father, well, at least, not in this age. He’s, ‘supportive’ of this sort of thing... So long as his children don’t engage in it.”

“...Right. If he found out, what do you think would happen?”  
“Father wouldn’t hesitate to disown me. Since there are no next of kin besides Morgana, he’d likely train her, and she’d take over as CEO of Camelot in my place.”

“Ah. Yes, that would happen wouldn’t it?” Merlin pauses. “Arthur, don’t let this worry you. Does anyone really know about...us?”  
Arthur shakes his head. “No, no one knows. Gwaine has speculated, but nothing beyond that.”

Merlin smirks. “Of course he has.” He sighs. “Well, neither of us should worry too much about this, alright? So long as we keep, this, discreet, we should be fine. If Morgana brings this up with Uther, he won’t necessarily believe her if she has no proof, right?”  
“Not necessarily. Sometimes Father treats her better than even me on occasions. And, with something like this, he may believe her, regardless of the lack of proof.”

“Then we’ll just have to take that risk, won’t we?” Merlin looks over to Arthur.

Arthur’s gaze flickers away briefly. “I guess.”

Merlin pecks Arthur on the cheek, before lightly touching the other side of Arthur’s face, pulling it towards his. He places a chaste kiss to Arthur lips before pulling away, resting his forehead on Arthur’s.

“Please don’t let this worry you. I’ll do what I can, alright?” Merlin says.

“Alright.”

\---

Merlin pauses outside the large doors to Camelot Industries, breathing in and out once. He is dressed more appropriately than he was last time he had come here, wearing black trousers, a grey dress shirt with a black suit jacket, a black scarf tied tightly around his neck. Merlin shakes his head, walking into the building. The lady at the desk pauses in her furious typing upon hearing the doors slide open.

“Oh, hello,” The lady says. “It’s Merlin, yes?”

“Right.”

“Like that great wizard?”

Merlin smirks briefly. “Er, yeah. My mom always liked those kinds of stories.”

“Hmm,” The lady replies. “Yeah, it was...an interesting experience when I decided to come work here. Camelot, and the CEO named Uther, with the future CEO Arthur?” She shakes her head. “It was a bit weird.” She pauses. “Right. Um, I guess you got the job then?”

“Sorry?”  
“That’s why you had come with Arthur last time, yes? Are you to be his assistant, or just another worker?”

“That is, still to be decided.” Merlin replies.

The lady nods. “Right. Hope you get the job then.”

“Er, me too. Have a nice day.”

The lady flashes a smile as Merlin walks over to the elevators.

Once Merlin gets to the right floor, he breezes through the cubicles, trying not to look as if he’s in a rush or not supposed to be there. The few people who recognise him wave, and Merlin flashes a smile, waving back as he continues to walk.

Merlin pauses outside of the door to Arthur’s office. As far as he knows, there’s no other door to Morgana’s office. He sighs. Arthur shouldn’t even know that he had come here. Merlin walks away from Arthur’s office, bumping into someone soon after, seeing a glimpse of coffee spilling onto the floor. He backs away, holding his hands out, an apology on the edge of his lips.

“Ah, Merlin,” Morgana says. Merlin closes his mouth, the need to apologise dissipating. “Didn’t realise you’d be here today. I didn’t see you with Arthur at all.”

“Er, no, I came of my own accord.”

“Do you need to talk to him?”

“Er, no,” Merlin says. “Actually, I need to talk to you.”

“Alright, let’s go to my office.” Morgana begins to walk down the hall.

“Um, could we go elsewhere? I’d rather have some privacy.”

Morgana raises an eyebrow as she turns to Merlin. “We would have plenty of privacy,” Morgana’s face shifts. “Well, I know another place we can go. Come along.”

Morgana and Merlin walk down the hallway in the opposite direction of Arthur’s office. They pass three or four doors before Morgana stops, opening the door for Merlin.

The office looks like it had been unused for a few months, a thin layer of dust on the large, oak desk that takes up about half of the office. There are wooden cabinets behind it, likely oak as well, and a black plush chair. On the opposite side of room are a few black-stained, wood chairs. The only source of light is from the rather large window in the back of the office, sunlight pouring in, casting odd shadows on the room. Morgana closes the door with a faint click.

“Like it?” Morgana mumbles. Merlin turns to look at her. “Father has yet to find any use of this office. He has considered promoting someone and letting them have it.” She shakes her head. “So, Merlin, what have you to ask me?”

“How much do you remember?” Merlin asks, the words direct.

“I’m sorry?”

“I can tell, you’ve got to have some memories from the past,” Merlin replies. “You have no need to hide.”

Morgana’s expression shifts abruptly, the mask of cluelessness falling away, replaced with a smirk. “Hm. Of course the great wizard would remember everything.”

“More than remember.” Merlin replies. “I can see that you’re up to the same antics.”

“Of course I am. Although, I must admit it’s a lot harder to achieve my goal in this new age. Funny how the Old Religion could be considered a simpler time, huh?” Morgana shakes her head. “I hope you understand Merlin, I will do whatever I must to achieve my goals. And, naturally, you and Arthur’s...fling is the most volatile weapon in my arsenal.”

Panic flashes across Merlin’s face. “The centuries have changed me, Morgana. I will not hesitate to kill you, or Mordred, or anyone who stands in Arthur’s way.”

“Good luck finding Mordred.” Morgana replies. “Seeing as how I have yet to find him, I can’t help but think he was destined to have only one life.” Morgana frowns briefly. “Such a shame.”

Merlin faintly hears a voice calling out in the hallway, pushing it into the back of his mind. Suddenly, he holds up a hand, eyes flashing before Morgana is slammed against the wall behind her, feet floating off the floor.

“I could kill you right now.” Merlin mumbles.

“Really?” Morgana replies, looking to the door. “Will you?”

The door to the office opens, and Arthur begins to walk in, immediately stopping once he sees Merlin and Morgana. Morgana can’t help the smirk that comes onto her face when she watches the mug of coffee Arthur had drop to the floor. Merlin turns his head towards Arthur, the concentration on holding Morgana in place dissipating. Morgana drops to the floor, landing on her knees. She casually gets up, brushing off the non-existent dust on her skirt.

“Hello, Arthur,” Morgana says nonchalantly.

Merlin’s eyes are wide, and he shakes his head, flashing Morgana a glare before turning back to Arthur.

“Arthur.” Merlin says.

Arthur blinks. “What, what is going on?”

“Yes Merlin, do tell Arthur what’s going on.”

Merlin scowls briefly at Morgana’s comment, shaking his head. For a few seconds, he watches the coffee Arthur had spilled pool along the floor, forming odd shapes on the wood. “Morgana and I, we were just talking.”

Arthur raises an eyebrow at Merlin’s response. “Really? Just that?”

“Arthur-”

Arthur shakes his head, walking out of the office. Merlin gulps, beginning to walk forward, and glances back at Morgana. She tilts her head slightly, the smirk still on her face.

“Well go on, chase after the once and future king,” Morgana says nonchalantly. “We can continue our conversation later.”

Merlin shakes his head, avoiding the impulse to say anything else, before hurrying out of the office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Semi-obligatory promoting: I have a Tumblr. For the time being, I'm mostly reblogging stuff, but I want to start taking prompts. I'll mostly post that kinda stuff on there, but I might post longer stuff on here. Click [ here ](http://oceannanotoceania.tumblr.com/) to follow me, or to send me some prompts.


	7. Chapter 7

“What the hell was that?” Arthur almost exclaims once the door to his office has closed.

Merlin gulps, slumping in the chair across from Arthur’s desk. Arthur had finally sat down, a few minutes ago merely pacing in no particular direction.

“Well?”

“I said that I would do what I could.” Merlin replies in a tone more harsh than intended.

“So what, that involves trying to kill her?”

“No, just-”

“Then what was that?”

“I don’t know!” Merlin replies, voice too loud. He breathes in and out once, adding in a feeble voice. “I don’t know.”

The mask of anger on Arthur’s face begins to crack, replaced with a look of concern.

“You never had to deal with me up until a few months ago. All those centuries past, you never once saw me.” Merlin sighs. “I went through these dark patches. Times when I’d go over what Kilgharrah had told me in the beginning. I began to deliberate what would have changed if I had killed Mordred, or Morgana, or any of them, when the Dragon had told me to do it. Most of the time, I simply concluded that I’d never have been able to do that sort of thing. But, sometimes, I’d think to myself that you would have been able to live your life if I had done what the Dragon told me to.” He pauses. “I refused to write in those periods, because the few times I tried to, I found myself merely writing about why I regretted not killing any of them sooner.”

“Usually, I can keep that side of me hidden away, just like I tried to keep back what I felt about you until recently. I guess, what with me being able to have the relationship with you that I’d always wanted, the mental barriers I had built up over centuries had started to crumble.” Merlin sighs, wrapping his arms around his head, forearms cradling his head. “I really don’t know where it came from, Arthur. Just, all of a sudden, I was channeling all of that resentment of not killing any of them.”

A silence suddenly fills the office. Arthur is merely staring down at Merlin, Merlin’s gaze flitting in random patterns across the small view of Arthur’s desk he had. Eventually, Merlin lifts his head, eyes meeting Arthur’s for but a second.

“I’m sorry.” Merlin mumbles, getting up out of the chair. “I, I should leave.”

Merlin leaves Arthur’s office, the door left halfway open. His gaze flits across the hallway, a small, but useless, wave of relief washing over him upon not encountering Morgana.

~

Merlin idly flips his phone in his hand, deliberating whether or not he should turn it on. He groans, laying further into the loveseat. Suddenly, he throws the phone, hearing it thud on the wall near the desk, landing on the floor behind it. Merlin suddenly jumps out of the chair, going to grab the phone. He assesses the damages, noting a few dents in the metal, but otherwise noting that it was in working condition. He shakes his head, turning the phone back on.

Once the phone finishes booting up, text alerts, voicemail alerts, and missed call alerts fill the air in the flat. Merlin goes through a cycle, checking what he had missed. No surprise, all of the calls and messages left are from Arthur, all having a similar theme of pleading with Merlin to talk to him, and concern over the bookshop being closed. God. Merlin shakes his head. Ever since he had reunited with Arthur, his behaviour has just been...childish. As if those centuries had helped deteriorate his sanity, his reuniting with Arthur being the final straw.

Merlin leaves the living room, going to his room to grab new clothes.

~

Probably just calling Arthur up would have been a better idea. Merlin shakes his head, glancing around the busy street. He knows that Camelot Industries is about a block away, already noticing the rather large skyscraper. He pushes through the throngs of people, mumbling or nodding in apology when he bumps into someone. Eventually, Merlin comes up to the street just in front of Camelot, glancing up at the large building. Arthur has just walked out of the front entrance, idly fiddling with the tie around his neck. He adjusts the strap of his briefcase before approaching the zebra crossing. Cars whiz past, kicking up small gusts of wind. Eventually, there is a lapse of the cars that are coming, and Arthur shrugs, beginning to cross the street.

Merlin’s eyes widen. A car is heading all too quickly to the crossing, the driver seeming to be unable to control his vehicle. Merlin begins to run across the street, pushing and shoving past people. Suddenly, time slows down. The car is going at a fraction of its speed, people practically frozen in place. Merlin is able to move at his normal pace, and soon is near Arthur. He shoves Arthur back onto the side of the pavement he had been on, time resuming its normal pace soon after. Merlin has an arm draped over Arthur’s shoulder, one of his cheeks on the pavement. He shakes his head, sitting up, Arthur doing the same soon after.

Merlin glances around the crowded sidewalk, gaze pausing on a familiar face. Her dark hair is mostly pulled back, a few stray locks of her draping her face. Lady Helen? Soon enough, the woman walks away, leaving Merlin unable to confirm the identity. There is the clack of shoes running on the pavement. Soon enough, Uther appears at Arthur’s side, kneeling down on the floor, a hand on Arthur’s shoulder. He is dressed smartly, the suit black, accented with a red tie and white dress shirt.

“Arthur, are you alright?” Uther asks, glancing up at the car that whizzes down the street.

“Yes, Father, I’m fine.”

Morgana shows up soon after Uther, choosing to stand behind Arthur. She glances over Merlin, a relatively neutral expression on her face. Merlin flashes a small glare to Morgana, promptly realising that someone was indeed talking to him.

“You saved my son.” Uther says.

“Did I?” Merlin replies. “I just saw that Arthur was about to walk straight into a car, and decided to push this moron out of the way.”

Arthur raises an eyebrow at Merlin’s wording. Uther tilts his head.

“Arthur, you know this young man?”

“Er, yes, Father,” Arthur replies. “This is, Merlin. He runs Gaius’s old bookshop at the moment, but he has recently deliberated getting a job here.”

“Has he?” Uther replies, looking over to Merlin.

“Somewhat,” Merlin replies. “The shop may have never gotten much in the way of customers, but even the few that once filled the shops are slowly diminishing.”

“Hm,” Uther says. “Well, deliberate no more, Merlin, yes?” Merlin nods. “Good. I do believe I can hire you. Arthur will be in need of an assistant, and I believe that your actions today emphasise why you should be the one for the job. Do you accept?”

Merlin avoids the impulse to drop his jaw. “O-of c... Yes, sir, I would be glad to accept.” Out of the corner of his eye, Merlin notices Morgana’s glare at him.

Uther smiles. “Good. Well then, Merlin, I expect you to get much better attire for tomorrow. Arthur, do you have any other tasks this man will need to do tonight?”

“Perhaps a few,” Arthur replies, opening the briefcase. He hands a few files to Merlin, all rather thick. “There’s some paperwork that needs to be filled out by tomorrow. I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out, right, Merlin?”

Merlin glares at Arthur, glad that Uther can’t see the expression. “Of course, sir.”

Arthur smirks. “Right. Well, shall we be on our way.”  
“Yes. Morgana?”

Morgana merely nods.

“Goodbye Merlin.” Uther says.

“See you tomorrow.” Arthur adds.

Morgana nods again, glaring at Merlin before walking away.

Merlin stares at the stack of paperwork, deciding to glance at the first page in the top folder. The print on the page is relatively small, and soon enough the words blur in front of him into an incoherent jumble. He shakes his head, closing the file. Of course things would return to this.

\---

**Six Months Later**

Arthur and Merlin lie in bed, both on their sides and facing each other. Arthur is propped up on his arm, Merlin choosing to just scrunch up his pillow in order to give the side of his neck more support.

“So, I finally found someone who I think would actually be able to take over the shop.” Merlin says.

“Really?”  
Merlin nods. “I’m not sure if you remember from the previous life, but, there was this boy, Gilli. He was somewhat like me. A boy born with magic, but, unlike me, he didn’t necessarily use magic for good.” He pauses. “Since I wasn’t able to do much for him in the past, I figured I would do something for him in this life, even if he isn’t quite the same person.”

A smile comes onto Arthur’s face. “That’s the Merlin I know. None of that dark, killing for the cause.” He pauses. “You’ve stopped with that line of thinking, haven’t you?”

“Yes.” Merlin replies. His response is true, to an extent. Only within the past month has Merlin finally come to realise that killing Morgana would only worsen the situation, not better it.

“Good.” Arthur replies. “I know that you’re still worried about what stunts Morgana might try to pull, but you don’t need to do anything like that. You never had to kill her in the past, and you won’t need to now. Unlike in the past, this is something that the two of us can fully battle. This is not something you must take on alone.”

Merlin nods his head. “I know.” He pauses, glancing at the time on the alarm clock. “Oh.”

Arthur raises an eyebrow. “What?”

“We need to be at work in about an hour.”  
Arthur groans, getting out of bed. “Of course we do. Come on, we’ll just shower together.”

Merlin smirks, following after Arthur. Arthur pauses in the doorway to the bathroom, Merlin wrapping an arm around Arthur’s waist, the other stroking Arthur’s cheek, before pulling him into a kiss. Merlin presses his lips to Arthur’s, lightly licking at the space between Arthur’s lips. Arthur parts his lips just enough for Merlin’s tongue to snake his way into Arthur’s mouth. The pair lazily kiss for a few seconds, Merlin abruptly ending the kiss, and leaning his forehead on Arthur’s.

“I love you.” Merlin says, panting lightly.

“I know.”

Merlin raises an eyebrow.

“...I love you too.”

Merlin smirks, pressing a chaste kiss to Arthur’s lips. “Much better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the first time I've ever posted a multi-chapter fanfic. It's been insane, but I really have loved doing this. I'd like to thank my beta for making sure I actually am putting out decent content. You should check out her stories, they're pretty good. I've got plans for a few stories, but otherwise I might do more prompt work, feel free to submit prompts here. I hoped you've liked reading this, despite all the delays! :'D


End file.
